Saturday, November 14, 2009

By knowing just a few basic tricks, you can guarantee yourself a moist, delicious, and beautiful Thanksgiving turkey every time. The two videos posted below were done last year, and according to the many emails and comments I got, they proved very helpful to lots of your fellow foodwishers.

If you don't have one, make sure you buy a meat thermometer before thanksgiving. They're only a few dollars, and on Thanksgiving at least, it's the most important tool in the kitchen. Other than that, these turkey and sauce techniques don't require any special skills or equipment, and you probably have everything you need already.

As I said in the original post, with these videos you can proceed with confidence, joy, and the knowledge that since you are cooking the turkey you won't have to wash any dishes! See you on the couch. Enjoy!

Wow, this looks so great! Do you ever brine your turkey?I assume you make the dressing separately. I would love to do it this way but my family thinks the dressing should be stuffing inside the turkey.I AM NOT AFRAID OF MY FAMILY--I WILL DO IT THIS WAY!!! I AM NOT AFRAID OF MY FAMILY (did I say that already)?

We prepared this for guests tonight. It was great as usual! We have been using your method on turkeys since last Thanksgiving and we recommend it highly. There are always many compliments from family and friends. Thanks for letting us in on your "secrets"!

As for basting- I baste roughly every 20-30 minutes, and I've never once had a dry turkey. Seems to work for me, so I won't argue.

For gravy, my family has a tendancy to avoid eating most organs, so we use a non-giblet gravy. I take the juice from the turkey and put it into a sauce pan with a little heat. Add to it a little flour (depending on the amount of juice- usually a tablespoon or so) then add milk- roughly 3-4 times the volume of the juice. When you taste it, all you'll taste is the milk, but as you heat it, the turkey flavor comes through beautifully and you're left with a delicious, creamy gravy with that strong turkey flavor you want.

Hi Chef John! This is my first celebrity fan mail...your blog is the best!!

I was wondering though, because this has been the only time I was skeptical of your ingredients, do you really recommend the Chinese 5 spice for the turkey? I guess I'm just nervous about the Asian-y flavor being discordant with the fresh herbs.

Your blog is the best. If this stupid economy gets better I will contribute... honest. Everyone should send something to the chef, it is well worth it, and he deserves it. Its not easy to do what Chef John does. His dedication to this site, along with his great sense of humor, his expertise, his knowledge, his wisdom, not to mention great recipes, screams out that we should all be donating. I will, I promise.

I just wanted to know if you folks in California stuff your turkeys like we do in New England? I am sure you do. But, have you ever cooked a chestnut dressing (stuffing)? Chestnuts make the stuffing. We make one along with sausage and the regular stuff and it is excellent. It is a classic New England stuffing. We actually roast the chestnuts on top of our wood stove, not the open fire as the song goes. It is the best Thanksgiving dressing New England can offer. Just want to know whether or not you have ever tried it?

Your site is a gift to all those on the Internet, who like to cook and eat, and you bring a smile to my family every time we access your site. In a world where stress is high everywhere, foodwishes.com is the oasis in the desert of negativity. Your diligent efforts in a positive direction make the world a much happier place.

I was watching a video of Anthony Bourdain cooking a turkey, and he mentioned that garlic should go no where near a turkey. He did, however, use tons of butter, and simple salt/pepper seasoning. Why wouldn't someone use garlic?

It was great, I used green onions, garlic, cumin, zest of orange, s&p for my compound butter... turned out pretty nice, the breast did come out a little dry but gravy fixes all :D now it's time for turkey sandwiches tomorrow!

Chef John, just had to say thanks again for posting your turkey vids. After years of trying different recipes (with varying degrees of success), yours will be my go to from now on. It really was fabulous. Moist and flavorful (yes, flavorful turkey, who knew?) and EASY. I even got a compliment from my totally non-foodie bf as he was carving..."Oh, what's that under the skin. Herb butter? Wow, that looks really nice. *pops a pc into his mouth* Hm...that tastes REALLY good too."

I wanted to ask...I found a recipe that puts herbed butter underneath the skin of the turkey. My question is...could I still bake the turkey breast side down for the first bit and then flip or is it better to just bake it breast side up through the whole process?

This worked out so well last year that I'm doing it again this year. It also took way too long for my social circle to decide where the hell we'd have Thanksgiving this year so I went ahead and just said "Let's have it at my place again," because it means I can make the turkey! Yay!

Chef John,Please don't take this blog off of the internet because I refer to it every time I do a Turkey. It has been the best recipe I have found in years. I'm still perfecting the gravy but the turkey always turns out spectacular. Thanks.

Thanks for posting your recipe. I like the compound butter idea. We did a test turkey with a few modifications to your recipe and it turned out amazing. We brined the turkey in: * 2 gallon water * 2 cup kosher salt * 4 tablespoons honey * 24 bay leaves * 1 cup garlic cloves, skin left on, smashed * 4 tablespoons black peppercorns * 1 ounce ( 3 large) of rosemary sprigs * 1 ounce (1 large bunch thyme sprigs) *4 ounces (1 large bunch) Italian parsley sprigs * Grated zest and juice of 4 large lemonsWe cooked the brine first for 2 minutes at boiling let it cool threw the turkey and 5 cups of ice in a bucket and let the turkey brine in the solution outside covered for 48 hours. We then rinsed the turkey well and dried the turkey with a cloth and followed your recipe from there. We subbed dry white wine for water in the roasting pan and cooked at 315 instead of 325. We omitted the sage and used lemon zest thyme and rosemary for our compound butter. Thanks for the tips the bird was singing and oh so juicy. I always dread eating turkey because its so dry. This time the juices were flowing evenly through the meat.

I have two questions. First, about the roasting pan. All I have is one of those cheap disposable aluminum pans. Will that change the recipe at all? Second, when you are cooking a big bird (about 20 lbs) at what point do you take off the foil? I really want a nice crispy skin.

the pan's OK! not sure exact time, about halfway through. The skin on roast turkey never really gets super crispy no matter what you do. ;-) You don't have to use foil at all, and can just cover at the end if its getting too dark. enjoy!

Hi Chef John, I love your video and am going to try it your way. I know I am a little dumb with computers but is there a place for the written amounts for your butter and everything else you talked about in the video or do I need to listen and write quickly as you talk.

fresh if you can get it, but i've used frozen many times and it's fine! The key is NOT to over cook. Use a thermometer and not time guides. Also, brining definitelyenjoy! helps for moisture. Just google for directions, their are TONS of articles on brining.

Chef John, I'm planning on using your recipe for this year's Thanksgiving Turkey. Question: What do you think about substituting Kraft Cooking Creme Italian Herb & Cheese, for herb butter, under the skin? It looks to be about the same consistency.

Hi chef john my name is Dariana and I'm 19 years old and i love to cokk i just wanted to say thank you so much chef john I started culinary school because of your videos! You inspire me so much! I'm making a turkey for the first time and so far its going great at first I was a little bit scared but your video really put me at ease! Thanks so much chef john oh my teachers name is chef john too lol

I've been the one assigned to cook the turkey for Thanksgiving in our home for a couple of years now, and this by far got the most rave reviews from all family members. It was incredibly moist, had tons of flavor, and most all, it was super easy! Thank you for making the Thanksgiving main dish so stress-free. :)

I have a spice rack at home I purchased a while ago and never used the herbs it came with. Can I used dried herbs as substitute for the fresh ones? What would the proportions be and would the dried herbs be too old? (about 2 years)

I'm just a beginner cook that would like to save some money. :) thanks for the help

Chef - could you comment on brining the turkey before cooking the turkey via your recipe?

I did this last year with an apple brine I found elsewhere and then smoked the turkey for 10 hours on my Webber SMS. The turkey was amazing but something was too salty. Can't remember if it was the meat or the gravy - which I suspect because it basically got reduced from while cooking that the drippings pulled from the pan probably may have been salty to start given the butter and the brine...

it turns out we do have one like yours but would it take longer to cook? @_@ im confused or should i just stick to my aluminum foiled ? i also have a regular metal tray just curious here ^ ^ sorry for the many questions >_<

Chef John! I made my first turkey today by watching your tutorial videos over and over!. The turkey was so moist and juicy!! The gravy was the best I've ever tasted!! (I've never liked gravy but this one I like it very much!) I also made your perfect mashed potatoes... sooooo goood. I am not afraid of cooking turkey anymore! Thank you so much!!

Chef John, After destroying a turkey last year, I trembled at the thought of making yet another batch of turkey jerky. Luckily, I discovered your videos! Your easy-to-follow advice gave me the courage to face a bird again--and it came out perfectly! So did the gravy. Yum! I've bookmarked this page for next year. Please don't take it down or I may slide back into a dark pit of despair and resort to Hungry Man pot pies.

Last year in 2012 was the first time I ever hosted a Thanksgiving Dinner and my husband and I cooked our first ever Turkey. Followed these instructions to a T and everyone loved my turkey. Usually my family has chicken for Thanksgiving because they say turkey is too dry, but they loved mine so much they've asked me to host it again. Won't be in town though so I'll host Christmas and they have requested for my Turkey again. My secret recipe was your You Tube video. Thank you!

Chef John I wanted to let you know that last year in 2012 I hosted my first ever Thanksgiving Dinner and my husband and I cooked our first Turkey. My family LOVED IT and it was all thanks to your you tube video, your tutorial. I followed your steps to a T and the results were delicious. They've asked me to host again this year, but I'll be out of town so they've begged me to make my turkey for Christmas. Most surprisingly is that my family doesn't like Turkey, they always have chicken for Thanksgiving, but now I've got them all into Turkey.

I LOVE you, Chef John! I've always made a pretty decent turkey and gravy, but this year (for a change of pace), I used your recipe and the complements didn't stop! And the gravy was the best I've EVER made...I didn't know turkey could be that juicy. I carved the breast all the way to the bone and the juice was ALL THE WAY THROUGH it and the meat nearly fell apart, it was so moist and tender. I'm a queen thanks to you! PS. I love your humor and the way you simplify even the toughest recipe. Thank you for all you do to bring amazing meals to us via Youtube so we, in turn, can bring them to our table and wow the family. I'm grateful to you!

I used this recipe the first time i ever started cooking Thanksgiving feast, and has been ever since minus the chinese five spice, cant seem to find it, however, everyone loves how juicy it is. Hands down, This recipe rocks. Awesome Chef!

Chef John, thank you for this tutorial. I cooked the turkey for my household for the 1st time in 20 years, and I really needed the refresher. Not only did my hubby love the turkey, he raved about the gravy and begged me to make this for his family next year. As for me, it's the first time I've truly enjoyed the leftovers.